Bigelow Bills Increase Wildfire Prevention Efforts

Photo by: BJ Hansen

Sacramento, CA – Assemblymember Frank Bigelow announced two bills he says will increase wildfire prevention efforts in the Mother Lode.

AB 910 and AB 912 are described as a tool to help prevent future catastrophic wildfires.
“Last year, California faced its most destructive wildfire season,” noted Assemblymember Bigelow. “The Creek fire in my district alone burned over 300,000 acres. California cannot keep putting off the wildfire problem, it is time to start taking a wildfire prevention approach to legislation.”

Bigelow details that AB 910 would raise the Small Landowner Exemption from 100 acres to 300 and remove the restriction for usage while also authorizing the construction of temporary roads when needed. AB 912 would expand the Working Forest Management Plan from 10,000 acres to its original 15,000, according to Bigelow.

Both bills would create more accessibility to the programs and provide a better opportunity to conduct wildfire prevention efforts. Assemblymember Bigelow explains, “These programs have existed for a few years now, but they are rarely used because of all of the restrictions on them. With all of the restrictions, people aren’t able to conduct the necessary wildfire prevention efforts that they need to, making them more susceptible to catastrophic wildfires. These two bills are the solution as they provide a gateway for people to use them to the full extent the programs were created for.”
Bigelow represents the 5th Assembly District encompassing nine counties, including Tuolumne, Calaveras, Alpine, Amador, and Mariposa.